Untitled (plotter)

Name: Ragnar Digital, LLC
Price range: $

Gerhard Friedrich Wilhelm von Graevenitz

1969

Plotter Drawing

73 × 73 cm
Black ink on translucent vellum

Description

Gerhard von Graevenitz became known in the 1960s for his kinetic sculptures and reliefs. He introduced chance to his process by rolling dice to decide on the placement and rotation of forms within a grid. In 1969, he gained access to the use of a mechanical plotter, which enabled him to automate his process when making works on paper.

This untitled drawing is a grid that has been distorted to alter its rhythm. Projection lines create an illusory effect of partial cubes jutting out from the gridwork. Von Graevenitz viewed algorithmic randomization as a way to avoid arbitrary decisions. This work shows order as the outcome of probability, at a time when the use of automation in art was still emerging.